At the Legend Gaming Cafe in Sydney showstealer1829 is making another campaign speech

Ladies and Gentlemen we're here on another beautiful Sydney day here at the Legend Gaming cafe because I want to discuss once again Australia's role in one of the biggest growing forms of sports and entertainment, the E-Sports scene.

A lot of you may have heard the story last month of Anathan Pham, better known in the online world as "Ana". Ana is a Dota 2 player, who's team OG recently won the International tournament, Dota 2's biggest tournament of there. Ana himself won approximately 3.4 million dollars from being part of the team that won, but what is a bigger story than that and what I want to discuss today is the story behind that.

Ana was a prodigy, great at the game, one of the best at what he did. However about 18 months ago he was forced to take a break, walk away from the game at his peak, because he could no longer deal with the stresses of both practicing and honing his skills to become the best in the game and deal with everyday life pressures all athletes face just like the rest of us. Study, Food, Rent. So on and so forth. It looked bleak, like one of the greatest players Australia has produced would have to step away from the game and the profession he was good at, simply because he did not have the same opportunities that quote unquote "Regular" athletes had.

Appoximately 12 months ago. I introduced and got passed the E-Sports Trial Bill in the Parliament of Australia, allowing athletes of the highest caliber in e-sports to be given the same opportunities that all athletes in Australia have had, funding from the Australian Institute of Sport. Ana was one of the first to be approved for funding under the trial and as such was able to resume his career as a professional Dota 2 player in November last year. In June of this year he rejoined his old team OG in a time of dire need for them as they entered the International qualifiers, they made it through there and by August Ana and the OG team were champions.

Now I am not saying for a moment that OG's win in the International tournament was as a result of the e-sport trial bill. The OG team was a strong team, formed together with a series of unique skills and talents and a will to succeed that drove them to victory. However Ana was given a chance to rediscover his passion and focus on his practice as a result of the E-Sports trial bill. Without funding there is a very real chance this success story at least for Ana would not have happened.

And it is not just Ana that has benefited from the bill. In the time since the E-Sports trial bill has passed, we have seen an Australian League of Legends league begin, partially funded by the creators of the game itself, partially funded by the e-sports trial bill. We've seen countless Australian Starcraft 2 players play on the biggest stage and being able to further their training in South Korea, where the best players in the world play, as a result of the e-sports trial bill. We've seen just a couple of weeks ago the Melbourne e-sports open, one of the biggest e-sports event ever to be held in Australia held at Rod Laver Arena, where approximately 50,000 people attended to see the best of this country battle in out in some of the most popular games on the planet. Many of them able to compete professionally thanks to funding they recieve as a result of the e-sports trial bill

This bill has been a tremendous success, we've seen it from industry leaders saying so, we've seen it by the popularity of the events held around the country growing. We've seen it by results. The bad news is in approximately 18 months that bill will expire, the funding will be cut off and we will be back to square one in this endeavor. Which is why if I am elected to parliament in this term I will be putting forward a bill to make the funding permanent. To remove the sword of Damocles hanging over this burgeoning and thriving industry. To give our athletes in this developing sport even footing with those athletes that get funding today.

Ladies and Gentlemen. I have championed this cause from the very start and I will continue to be that voice for our e-sports athletes in parliament. In addition to holding the parties accountable for what they do. I will put my record on the line. I will submit my bill for costings and i will fight for every Australian who would vote for me, or would vote for someone else. I am here not for my ego, but to give voice to those that feel they have no voice in Parliament any more. Together we can continue to lead the way in this new and developing sport. And together we can forge a better Australia. Thank you for your time